Momnesia

Pregnancy and motherhood don't cause women to have memory lapses and other cognitive problems, even though the concept of ''pregnancy brain'' and ''momnesia'' are widely accepted, according to a new Australian study.

I will call their bluff on this one. Sure give me a math test before and after I am pregnant and I will probably be just fine. But remembering the diaper bag, do we have wipes, bottles, formula, etc. oh crap no I have lost my keys. I think that hormonally and emotionally we are spread so thin. Metaphorically speaking, you try taking one tablespoon of peanut butter and making two sandwiches for you "starving" children. It's hard, not that it can't be done, not that it won't work, it's just hard. When you are at work your mind is at home, when you are home you wonder did I do enough today at work. And all the while you do this while changing a diaper with one hand and making a cake in the other. Gross I know but you catch what I am trying to say?!

In a perfect world the beds would be made every morning, supper would be on the table at 5:30, and all of the kids would be washed and in bed by 8:30. Come on world, give us, Moms and Dads, some slack. When you take on the responsibilty of raising children your mind is a constant whirl wind of "To Do" lists. So if I come to work with spit up on my shoulder, or one black and one navy shoe, don't pity me. I am proud of who I am and what I have become. Welcome to ParentHood.

People these days....

Let me start off by saying that my husband is wonderful. No this vent is not about him, but I know that I have been on edge lately, and he does really well and rolling with the punches. I don't think of myself as a needy person, actually I am pretty independent. I don't expect everyone to jump up and do things for me just because I am pregnant, I mean I am only 4 months along and still very capable of doing all that I need to. I am just always amazed at the lack of consideration for others in this world. For example, the other night at gymnastics they have a big long bench for the parents to sit on and watch their kiddos, it is the full length of the wall. Well, the parents of the class before us strings out all of their stuff, backpacks, shoes, coats etc so that no one can sit there. The bench could easily accommodate 8-10 adults but no, the privileged 3 that sit there and see the rest of us standing are completely oblivious. I know that this sounds petty, but it is every week!

Next, it is AMAZING how much unsolicited advice you receive when you are pregnant. Not that thoughts from people I know aren't expected, but total strangers. I was in the nail salon and this lady gave me an earful about how I was harming my baby by being in there with all of the fumes. I bet she would flip out if she knew that I dyed my hair the entire time I was pregnant with Boston and he turned out just fine. I have checked with my doctor and all of these things are perfectly fine if I can stand the smell, but it will not hurt my baby. I even had someone ask how far along I was the other day, and they said that was impossible because I should be bigger. I am proud that I have not ballooned out and my weight gain is right where it should be. Like I said all of these people are strangers, so once the shock goes away, I think I find it all very irritating. And of course 6 months from now this will all be very humorous.

Weekly Meals

Growth

You know children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers.
John J. Plomp

I think that I am starting to nest. I've been cleaning a lot, actually I think I've created more messes than I've made progress, but that's besides the point. Boston and the Baby will share a room, not right away, we plan to put the crib in our room and when we feel the time is right we will merge the Baby in the room with him. But the closets are the first things that must be conquered. Boston has a really good size closet, the only problem is that one half has been a catch all for the past 5 years. It's times like these that I realize why you never stay in the first house that you buy. Even if it were just Boston we need more space!! Where I am going to put all of this stuff?! So away things went some made it to the trash, others respectively made it to the yard sale pile. When am I going to have time for a yard sale.... toys that have not been played with in over a year suddenly were resurrected into Boston's "Favorite thing that he has been looking for over 100 years!", his words not mine. I pulled out a HUGE bag of stuffed animals and tell him he can pick out four to keep, I figured that was fair considering he had almost triple that on his bed already. He has become quite the negotiator, oh the things we teach our kids with out even knowing it. I didn't even get a chance to go through the toy box yet, I am holding off on throwing away a years worth of McDonald's valuable prizes when the little eyes are not around.

The one thing that got me emotional was when I was going through his clothes. Maybe it's the hormones, maybe it's the sound of the cash register going through my head knowing he only got to wear this shirt one time and now it will have to be replaced with a bigger, more expensive one. Gone are the days of $3.99 tops and shorts in the toddler section, what is over the horizon is the $8.99 (5/6) sizes in the little boys section that I swear are only 1/2 inch bigger and are not near is cute and the choices are twice as slim. (If you are a mother of a boy you know what I am talking about. I think that the girls section is slowing creeping it's way over into the polos and cargo shorts that I adore so much.)

But seriously, my little baby is turning into a Boy! I think that this has been happening for quite some time and I have just failed to accept it. No more, "Mommy can you help me?", it's now "Mom, look what I did! Aren't you proud?!" Of course I am, I beam every time he says Please and Thank You, every time he tells me he knows Jesus Loves Him, I just can't believe it has all happened so fast. We talk about our days, what he did, how much he helped at daycare. Diane (his daycare teacher) tells me how lucky the Baby and I are going to be because he is such a help to her. I know this already but fully soak in his praises and tell her Thank you and that I know we are blessed.

As I fold away the last shirt that is too small I sit and think about what is to come. How will we incorporate the Baby into our lives, how will I love him or her as much as I do Boston. I know I will, I know it will happen, but the love I have for Boston is overwhelming. He is such a good kid, he is the reason I want to stay home on a Friday night and play Sorry, or Guess Who with a frozen pizza instead of a fancy restaurant for dinner. These are the days that I will remember forever. I went to bed that night sad and happy all at the same time. I guess pregnancy does that to you. Sad that a chapter in our life is closing and happy, no ecstatic that a new one is about to begin.

Snowstorm 2010

Enjoy it now Boston this does not happen all the time in Texas!!

There's a sandbox under there somewhere!

God's talent is shown everyday, and Everyday I am still amazed.

View from our front porch.

All I have to say is WOW! I thought we got snow at Christmas, apparently this is the most we have ever seen in North Texas since 1978!

R.I.P. Weezer

Our miniature schnauzer died last night.... Weezer will be missed very much! He had pancreatitis, I think that he battled with it more than we realized. The vet advised to cut back his diet and that seemed to always work within 24 hours. This only happened two times before, I know there is nothing more that I could have done. Pray for me as I have to tell Boston.

So We Are Expanding......

I know that I should probably start off this blog by apologizing for such a huge gap. I won't I am a mom, a wife, and my life gets pretty busy. I love to update on Face Book when I can. It's way easier, but here I can be a bit more expressive and not worry about posting too much!

So what's new you ask? I am proud to say that I will be a New Mommy in August 2010!! That's right the "Cox Family of 3" will now be "Cox Family of 3 with a High Chair", that's restaurant lingo :) Boston is soooo excited, can't stress enough, to be a Big Brother. He has already talked about all the things he will teach the baby, many of which he has yet to master himself, for example: clean his room, fly, play checkers but hey the kids got some goals and I am not about to crush them.

We are very excited about the little one and what is to come. I am already having different emotions and experiences this go around. So far, aside from the few battles with morning sickness, and a couple of emotional meltdowns, I think that all is well. I know that I am not as scared this time, anxious yes, scared no. I mean we've made it 4.5 years with Boston so we must have caught on at some point. I'm not as anxious to get into Maternity clothes, 3 months and still wearing my jeans, however it is sweatpants as soon as I get home! I know the bump is cute but I will be a bit more conscientious about how soon I let it make it's debut!

We had our first sonogram at 12 weeks on February 4, that was pretty interesting. The tech was measuring everything and I could identify all the parts as she was moving around, head, leg, stomach, poor Boston looked at his Daddy and he said "Sorry Bud, all I see is a Baby!"

So, this will be my outlet, this will be my story (when I find the time) to tell. Please keep us in your prayers. Any advice on Mothering the 2nd time will be greatly appreciated.